Chapter 37: The Big Fight and Demands
They clash, two mighty competitors going after a single prize. 'No…' Inuyasha reminds himself, 'not a prize, a future. Kagome's future. It has to be decided today, now.' He thinks as he grinds his teeth against the strain put on his unworked muscles. He stares into Kouga's blank, hateful eyes, some small part of his mind wondering how one got to be like that, while the rest of him worked to gain ground. Little by little, he does, only to lose it once again. It becomes clear that the two are evenly matched, due to Inuyasha's inactivity over the past week or so. Finally, Inuyasha sees an opening and lets go, ducking down, using Kouga's momentum against him and flipping the wolf over him, spinning around quickly afterwards and backing up a bit.
Kouga, taken by surprise at the move, lands squarely on his back, having the wind taken away upon impact with the hard castle floor. He recovers quickly enough, jumping up and spinning around, growling fiercely at the hanyou who'd been able to gain a bit of ground between the two of them. "Why do you keep on doing this dog-breath? You know I'm gonna win, your little tricks won't save you forever. Sooner or later, I'm going to catch up to you, then I'm gonna squeeze your pathetic life out of that worthless body of yours. Then I'm taking Kagome like I should and making her my mate, she'll come to accept it someday if she knows what's good for her."
Hearing this makes Inuyasha's blood boil, and nearly all thought goes out the window when he hears this insignificant asshole talk about HIS Kagome that way, the rage causing him to charge him full on. Kouga smirks, jumping over his running opponent and slamming him in the back with his feet, causing him to lose his balance and his breath as he crashes face-first to the floor. Still trying to regain his balance, Inuyasha flips up to face him, coughing and breathing hard. 'Alright, stupid move. Damn, I shouldn't let him get me riled up like that! Okay, think. Kouga's not the sharpest nail in the shed, he'll probably be expecting me to charge him again. Maybe I can use that to my advantage….' "Stay still you mangy wolf! I'm going to slice you open like a melon!" he hollers before attacking again.
He watches the wolf carefully as he does, noticing the subtle signs that the demon was going to feint right with his still sharp mind (A.N. I know, I know, Inu-chan and 'sharp mind' don't seem to go together, but hey, he IS a demon.), waiting for the wolf to make his move then roll left before changing his direction so that he lands his right foot squarely in Kouga's face, sending him rolling into the nearby wall.
Kouga, for his part, is not amused in the slightest, growling as he gets up and wipes the blood from his mouth. "You mutt! How DARE you hit me like that! I'm going to beat you to a bloody pulp, gut you, then storm into the underworld so that I can…." Further ranting is promptly cut off as Inuyasha slams his fist into Kouga's face, causing him to smash into the wall behind him before slumping down against it.
"Shut your damn mouth, ya' mangy wolf." Inuyasha says as he hauls the moaning wolf demon to his feet, "I'm getting sick and tired of hearing that stupid voice of yours. Now, you've got to the count of ten to get the hell out of my castle before I REALLY started getting pissed off. And if you ever even think about showing your face anywhere near my kingdom again, I will hunt down like the dirty dog you really are and beat you within an inch of your worthless life. Now, shall I begin counting?" he says, a deadly calm in his voice.
"One." He counts, before stopping for a moment and letting go of Kouga, then punching him with an amazing force in the gut.
"Two." He says, as Kouga gasps for breath, trying his best to get his bearings, though if it's to run or fight is not apparent to anyone yet, and Inuyasha simply stands over him, and impressing and imposing figure.
"Three…Four…" He counts steadily, keeping his head as much as possible. 'That's right, keep a level head. The quicker and cleaner this is over, the less Kagome has to see. ' He thinks, determination shining in his eyes.
All that, though, goes out the window when he hears a deep, slick, oozing voice say "Ten."
He whips his head around, his eyes growing big as his hands and his fur paling to be as white as a ghost at the sight that awaits him. 'Oh no…'
There, with a hand neatly wrapped around Kagome's throat and the other occupied with none other than Rin herself, was a figure cloaked in baboon skin, the hood off to reveal a man with piercing blood red eyes that seemed to burn into one's soul and long unruly black hair that seemed to reach out towards every on its own accord. "Hello there Inuyasha. You remember me, don't you?"
The furred prince regains his composure and yells "No I don't remember who the hell you are. I've never seen you in my damn life!"
The man frowns, though his eyes laugh maliciously at him, "Now, now Inuyasha, it's not nice to lie. Truly you don't forget those who try to kill you that quickly, do you?"
This time, it's Inuyasha's turn to frown "Try to kill…? Wait a minute, are you that freak that Kagome and I avoided while trying to find my brother all that time ago?"
A smirk comes to the man's face "Very good, so the dog DOES have a memory. Now…" he says smoothly before raising Kagome off of the ground slightly and tightening his hold on her, causing her to gasp in alarm "…my name, mayhaps? Surely you wouldn't forget something given to you so graciously."
Before Inuyasha can even call out Kagome's name, his elder half-brother's voice rings out, cold and dangerous, from beside him, where he'd glided to while both of their attentions were elsewhere "Naraku…"
Inuyasha turns to him as Naraku smirks, "Very good King Sesshomaru, but I didn't ask you." He says before tightening his grip on Rin's small neck, "Now, do not speak unless spoken too. So Inuyasha, at this point you must be wondering why I went through such an elaborate scheme, even kidnapping Queen Rin in her bed while the castle guards were…" he chuckles as if at a private joke, "…indisposed of, just to bring me to this point."
Inuyasha scoffs, "Not really, you want to take control of my throne, what else?"
Naraku outright laughs at that before stopping as abruptly as he began "Oh no, Inuyasha, my plan is much more then just to get your throne. You have things that you do not even realize that I desire. Your blood for instance. Ah, that royal blood that also makes you the most lethal fighter in existence. As payment for sparing this…wench's life, you will surrender yourself to the beast that you try oh so hard to keep a tether on, then I will use my own, resources to harness you so that you will only work for me, like this pathetic fool does." He says, nearly spitting in Kouga's direction.
"You…" Kagome rasps, "You were the one that changed him into a demon."
Naraku smirks, "Very good. Not that he didn't want it. He was ready to give anything, just to have a chance of being with you. The idiot." He then turns his attention back to the half-brothers "Now, you, King Sesshomaru, will be given back your precious Queen, but only if you swear on your oh so glorified father's honor that neither you, nor any of your country will make an aggressive move against me, and that when you die, which I promise you, will be before I do, you must sign that all your land is to go to me."
Sesshomaru snarls maliciously at the man, but Naraku simply continues to smirk. Inuyasha takes a deep breath, his eyes and voice betraying the deep, growing fire of rage that he feels as he says, "You said, 'for example', that means you want more then just my blood and land, what else do you want?"
Naraku's eyes shine, "Ah, I was going to spare you that, but, since you asked…" he says before hoisting Kagome up even farther "HER! Or, at least that little gift you gave her." He laughs, "You FOOL! You didn't even realize that I put it in your head to give her that particular trinket, you don't even seem to know just WHAT you gave this simple, naïve little girl! With the Shikon No Tama around her neck, and my knowledge of its capabilities, soon I'll be unstoppable!"
"What makes you think that I'll obey you, you weak excuse for a fungus? I'd rather die than be any part of your twisted scheme." Kagome says, squirming to try and free herself.
"That is simple girl." Naraku states, seeming to take immense pleasure in each word before it passes his lips, "Because if you don't, then I will kill Inuyasha, and then toss you out into the cold, alone, friendless, loveless, and knowing you are wholly responsible for his death."
A.N. HOLY CRAP! How in the world are they going to get out of this one? Sorry for taking so long AND for the cliffhanger, but school's been winding down, so I've had to study, and as for the cliffhanger, well, the story wanted to stop being written there I guess. Trust me, I wanna know what happens next as much as you do. I PROMISE to have the next chappie up as soon as possible. Sniff, it's kinda sad, you know? I think as far as the traditional storyline goes, I can only get two or three more chapters out of this. It'll be sad to see it wrap up, you guys have all been so wonderful. But I'll keep the soppy stuff for the last chapter. Anyways, onto Reviewer Replies! I'd like to say thanks to harryptaxd204, Lisa, glenlightarrow, Inu-Youkai Gurl, NekoYuff16 Bloody Rin, SitDog-Boy, That One Nerd, Squirrel Lou, Provoked, angel-tears-16, Gothic Punk Chick, and At3nt10n D3f1c1t M3GG0. Now, for Individual Responses:
marlett- Sort of, the scene change was only by a few minutes at most, however long it would take Inuyasha to wake up from, say, half-wakefullness. Sorry if that's a crummy explanation, I just don't know how to any better then that.
galaxy guardian- Lol, wow, I haven't gotten a review that long in a while. I'm glad you liked the explanation, and I'm honored to hear that I've been inspiration for you. I'd love to hear the idea. Thank you once again for your profound compliments.
That's all for now! R&R everybody!